Kelsie and Sonja ask:
Tegan,
Do you think that you have learned a lot about Sara through the music that she has written? When she shares her songs with you do you usually know what the metaphors are about, or do you have to ask her? And the same for you, when you share your new song ideas with Sara, do you find yourself explaining them and telling stories about why you wrote certain lyrics, or does she usually know what the song is about?
Thanks.
Tegan writes:
Hey Kelsie and Sonja!
Sara and I never explain our songs to each other. There are exceptions of course. Specifically when Sara submitted Knife Going In she explained the song. Also songs like Sentimental Tune and Arrow I was aware of what the metaphors meant based on my knowledge of Sara's personal life. We may not tell each other directly what the songs are about but we are very candid generally about what we are writing about and so that comes out either way. On stage I like to talk about what my songs mean so Sara finds out anyway. We just don't have that kind of relationship where we sit around and talk about feelings. Ha. I do feel like Sara's songs (and mine as well) are little windows into how we are doing personally, for sure.
-Tegan
Sarah asks:
Hi Tegan,
When I first started listening to Tegan and Sara not too many people really knew who you were, and to be honest I was okay with that. I kinda' felt like I was part of a musically elite group. HA! I am now in my early 30s and realize in order for T&S to be able to continue to create the music that I adore, I need to not only accept but embrace the fact that you are becoming more of a household name. The other day I was out wearing a T&S shirt and I got stopped two times by people saying, "Oh, I love Tegan and Sara!" I was SO proud!! I guess the only thing I really miss is the fact that things now get so crazy after a show that you both can't interact with your fans like you use to.
I was wondering what you find challenging the bigger your band gets? Do you find it harder writing music knowing that your fan base is getting so much bigger therefore maybe harder to please?
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this for your fans!
All the best,
Sarah.
P.S. Sorry for such a long intro. HA!
Tegan writes:
Hi Sarah!
Thank you for this really great question. Sara and I remember the days (first 8 years or career) when we were able to set up our gear, play our show, sell our own merchandise and hang out post show very fondly. Those years were super important. They are how Sara and I built our fan base, one fan at a time. We loved being able to interact with the fans directly. Now things HAVE gotten too big and too crazy to make that happen every night BUT we work on instore performances, radio performances and meet and greets as much as we can so CAN still meet our fans. I still read all our fan mail and respond to some of it personally not to mention I have NO issue stopping and talking to fans when I see them out in my regular life. But things have changed, its true. As our band gets bigger, which is a necessarry step in our evolution and our being able to keep making music for a living, we are unable to be as personal. But our music (the last part of your question) is still our most intimate gift to our fans. I definitely never worry about writing and how our fans will take it. I know they will understand it and love it!
Bye,
Tegan
Tabitha asks:
What was it like shooting the videos for Northshore and On Directing? They seems so upbeat and just straight-forward... totally different from your other videos... maybe minus Speak Slow.
Tegan writes:
Hey Tabitha,
We definitely wanted to make more straight ahead videos for these two songs. They were super fun and upbeat to shoot. Definitely 2 of my favourite videos we've done. I think that for whatever reason our songs work best when the videos are simple and straight forward. I loved Speak Slow and Call It Off and really wanted to write treatments that just focused on Sara and I and not too much else. With our limited budgets for those videos we were able to capture our spirit and the spirit of the song. I think we were able to do that again with these videos!
Bye
Tegan
Amanda and Maria ask:
Hi Tegan,
I noticed that a lot of musicians wear "in ears" and you don't. Why is that? Do you like being able to hear the crowd sing along?
Thank You.
Tegan writes:
Hey Amanda and Maria!
You got it! I really feel cut off from the crowd when I wear in-ears. I used to wear them and I would just end up ripping them out between songs and then feeling frazzled because I had to get them back in when it was time to play. It feels more manageable to me to just have regular monitors. Call me classic! Imagine standing in front of 500 people with headphones on..that's what in-ears make me feel like. Hate em.
Tegan
Ashley F. asks:
Hey Tegan!
You and Sara both have great style. I was wondering who some of your favorite designers are.
Tegan writes:
Hey Ashley!
I love clothes. It really doesn't matter where they are from. I love mixing and matching. I have some very expensive pieces but then some of my faves are really cheap. Sometimes I vintage shop though not that often. I am wearing more vintage stuff on this Paramore tour than I usually do. We both love to shop at Barneys Co-op. I love Pop Killer in LA and Block and Lark in Vancouver. Sara loves all sorts of fancy stuff but I don't know the designers by name. I love tshirts so I spend a lot of time online looking at sites that have cool really unique stuff. Off the top of my head, Glamour Kills and Blood Is The New Black are my faves. I wear a lot of jeans from Urban Outfitters too. They are super cheap and I have to buy new ones constantly as they fade but they are SO comfortable.
Take care,
Tegan